This is the fifth installment in the 5×5 Garden Challenge Series. Every Wednesday I’ll be posting about the challenge, covering topics that will help all the new gardeners get started. If you haven’t heard about the challenge head on over to the 5×5 Challenge Website, we’ll also be putting up a page here that pulls in all the 5×5 Challenge posts.
This week I had great intentions of mixing up the soil to fill my beautiful timberframe raised bed built by Mr Chiots, but….I haven’t been feeling well for the past week. Tired, achey, nauseous, out of sorts, just not quite 100% myself. I actually spent the entire day last Thursday in bed, if you know me, you know how out of character this is for me. Generally you won’t find me sitting still. I think I’m just tired, worn out, and overworked. About the time I started gaining my energy back again, it started to rain.
As a result, my raised bed sits empty, the seed packets are still on the table, and none of my garden tasks were checked off the list. That’s OK though, because gardening is not a race. The beauty if gardening is that it is very forgiving. Plants often don’t mind being planted a week late. One of the only things you really need to stay on top of in gardening is the weeding. So I’m giving myself a few days off, catching up on all my office work, and generally just trying to rest up for the busy days ahead. Remember, gardening is about enjoying it, it’s a hobby. Don’t get too caught up in all you have to do and make it unpleasant. There are times when you really do need to take a few days off!

Do you ever have to force yourself to take time away from garden chores?

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8 Comments to “It’s Not a Race”

I was under the weather last week as well and nothing got done. No cooking, house chores or gardening. Sometimes your number one priority has to be taking care of the caretaker. Hope you are feeling strong.daisy´s last post ..How We Homestead Week Two

I hope that you feel better soon!
I got a really tired back just in time for the one day Michael
Phillips workshop, totally fascinating.
It was really hard to stand around or sit for long period after too much of everything in the garden.
I am taking it easy and reading “Our Life in Gardens” while letting my back heal,potatoes, carrots and parsnips will have to wait, my grafted tomatoes from Territorial Seeds have to go in today.
Take care of yourself!

Last summer, what with my hugely gravid state, was pretty much one long break from garden chores. Including, sadly, weeding. And I’m paying for it now with seriously terrifying numbers of pigweed seedlings sprouting. I’m hoeing every day to try to keep ahead of them. We’ll see how successful I am.

Most days I have the intention of doing something in the garden for 20 minutes, but unfortunately that depends on how organised and quickly my daughter’s schooling goes or how many dishes are piled up in the sink. :)

You just described my first pregnancy.. it was horrid.. I wanted to stick my head in the toilet & flush.. haha..

I have no problems whatsoever regarding putting gardening on hold for a few days.. or weeks sometimes… which gets me into BIG trouble weed-wise.. I should be more daily dilligent but Im not.. Either way, it works for me. I’ve never had a lack of veggies from any of my gardens.

Last week I was in bed early Monday and Tuesday — I thought maybe it was allergies, but I think something is going around as several other people have been telling me they had the same problem.

And yes, I often over do it in the garden and have to force myself to step away. I think I’m genetically predispositioned to start picking weeds whenever I step out the back door!Julie´s last post ..First Harvest of the year

Susy – I hope you are back on your feet soon. I have a hard time taking time off. Now that I have been forced to do just that, it has taken me a while to slow my mind down as well. I know things will be there waiting when I can get to them. I just hope they don’t turn into bigger projects before I get to them. ha. Hope you feel better soon!Sincerely, Emily´s last post ..First tomatoes of the season

Yes, but this surely isn’t one of the weeks. The cool damp weather has meant that not much has needed to be done in the garden. Nothing is really growing, no watering needed as it has been raining a lot, nothing is ready to harvest … because it hasn’t really been growing. I’m behind on putting out cucumbers and a container garden on my deck, but do not feel rushed as it is so cool.

There was actually a season, literally, where life was busy and stressful and I put gardening aside almost completely.

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but just recently moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine.